A vocation is a calling from God. This vocation may be a calling to the priesthood, to the religious life, to marriage, or to the single life. God calls us to serve Him in the best possible way through our vocation. When God created the universe and created us in His image, His will was instilled within us. Through prayer, we discover the reality of what God is asking of us. Despite the fall of our first ancestors, we do indeed have salvation by God’s wonderful grace and justice. We are dead in sin but alive in God, who is Father, Christ, and the Spirit! Therefore we ought to live the life that God is calling us to live, through the life of the risen Lord. It is through our calling that we can, in a sense, become like God. Through our calling we find out who we are, and find the Love of the father, embracing us, as His children.
“All men are called to this catholic unity of the People of God. . . . And to it, in different ways, belong or are ordered: the Catholic faithful, others who believe in Christ, and finally all mankind, called by God's grace to salvation” (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 836).
We are called to help bring about unity for the children of God. We are called to follow Christ’s apostolic mission to take Christ’s teachings to the farthest ends of the earth. When Jesus called His disciples, their professions ranged from tax collector to fishermen. God calls people from all walks of life! We must answer this call given to us so we can continue to teach that Christ came to save all of mankind. This paragraph of the CCC teaches that Christ indeed will call us to Him, to do as He commands. Priests take vows, plain and simple. Some only take vows of celibacy and obedience to a bishop. Others make vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience. These vows help the clergy and religious to better dedicate themselves to God’s service. Some may question whether they are called to this way of life, but with God, we can come to a better understanding of His calling.
Christ was the first priest, the High Priest. It is because of His Priesthood that we can find God’s infinite mercy and grace whenever we need it. Because Christ established the Holy Priesthood, it shall always stand strong, for with God all things are possible!
In my opinion, this is the turning point at which we must leave our current life, to live a better life with Christ. Jesus found no glory in being a High Priest, because it was His mission established by the Father. When we are called by Christ, we should be able to say “Today I have renounced my will and accepted Christ's will for His name's sake.” To be an earthly high priest you needed to be born from the tribe of Levi. But Jesus was born from the tribe of Judah, so He can't be a Priest, right? Wrong. What the writer meant was that there is a higher order of priesthood, the order of Melchizedek (Heb 7). Jesus is from a higher order than the earthly priesthood. Priests are men of prayer. Their prayer consists of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, (Eucharistic Celebration), the Liturgy of the Hours, and other prayers of the Church. God hears our prayers, and we must also pray that He will save us from eternal punishment.
When ordained to the priesthood, the priest becomes a second Christ. He then continues Christ’s apostolic mission, and brings about His presence on earth, through the hands that consecrate the host which becomes God. Also, by forgiving sins in the name of God, the priest acts in the person of Christ, administering a sacrament that Christ Himself established.
When one considers his or her vocation, the individual has to understand that he or she does not choose to be a priest or religious, but has been chosen.
Christ was perfect and therefore capable of becoming the author of salvation through His death on a cross, His resurrection, and all that He stood for. We must follow in His footsteps, whether that is as a priest, a religious, a married or a single person. In all aspects of life we must give God glory and honor. In prayer we stand strong and come to a better understanding of who we are, because we are made in His image and likeness. The question now is, are we ready to give up everything to follow Christ?
(Eddie Looney, a young Catholic who is 15, is considering the priesthood. Eddie has founded a Catholic outreach, Ave Maris Stella Publications.)
